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Domain Users Sign in using Biometrics

The use of Biometrics is supported by Windows 10. Aside from that, it also supports PIN, password, picture password on all computers and if your computer has the proper hardware, Windows 10 also supports facial scanning, iris scanning, and even fingerprint scanning. You can see all these exciting features inside Settings > Accounts > Sign In Options.

On the other hand, you can’t really expect to make use of all the above-mentioned features since it depends if the hardware is available to support them. One of the most interesting features is the use of Biometrics which is really useful in workplaces and so this post will show you how you can enable or disable the Domain Users Sign In on Windows 10 using Biometrics via Registry Editor or Group Policy Editor. But before you go on, you need to create a System Restore Point first since the modifications you’re about to do might affect the functioning of your computer. So in case something went wrong, you can always undo the changes you’ve made.

Option 1 – via Registry Editor

  • Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
  • Next, type “Regedit” in the field and hit Enter to open the Registry Editor.
  • After that, navigate to the following registry path:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREPoliciesMicrosoftBiometricsCredential Provider

  • From there, right-click on the right-side panel and click on New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.
  • And then set the name of the newly created DWORD as “Domain Accounts”.
  • Afterward, click on “Domain Accounts” and set its value to “1”. This will allow the domain users to sign in to Windows 10 using Biometrics. While the value of 0 will disable the domain users sign in to Windows 10 using Biometrics.
  • Exit the Registry Editor and restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

Option 2 – via Group Policy Editor

  • Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
  • Next, type “gpedit.msc” in the field and hit Enter to open the Group Policy Editor.
  • After that, navigate to the following setting:

Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Biometrics

  • Then double click on the following entries located on the right-side panel and set the radio button to Enabled on all of them.
    • Allow the use of Biometrics.
    • Allow users to log on using Biometrics.
    • Allow domain users to log on using biometrics.
  • Now exit the Group Policy Editor and restart your computer to apply the changes made properly.

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The cause of MSASCui.exe error is triggered by:
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Further Information and Manual Repair

When you experience an MSASCui.exe error on your PC, it is advisable to fix and repair it immediately before it causes serious damages to your system. Here are some DIY quick solutions to repair MSASCui.exe error:

Solution 1:

If the speed of your PC reduces significantly and you also see MSASCui.exe error message pop on your screen, then in this case it is advisable to uninstall the Windows Defender program from your PC. To do so, follow these instructions:
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Technical Details and Manual Removal (Advanced Users)

If you don’t want to use malware removal software and prefer to eliminate GetCouponsFast manually, you could do so by going to the Windows Add/Remove Programs menu in the control panel and deleting the offending program; in cases of browser extensions, you can remove it by visiting the browser’s Add-on/Extension manager. Additionally, it is advised to reset your web browser settings to their default state. Lastly, check your hard disk for all of the following and clean your registry manually to remove leftover application entries after uninstallation. Please keep in mind that only advanced users should attempt to manually edit the system files since deleting any single vital registry entry results in a serious problem or even a PC crash. Moreover, certain malicious programs are capable to defend against its removal. It is recommended that you do the removal process in Windows Safe Mode.
Files: %LOCALAPPDATA%\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions\iadmakoacmnjmcacmhlcjcameijgcopj %UserProfile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions\iadmakoacmnjmcacmhlcjcameijgcopj %UserProfile%\Local Settings\Application Data\GetCouponsFastTooltab %LOCALAPPDATA%\GetCouponsFastTooltab Registry: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\[APPLICATION]\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall..Uninstaller
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  10. Libre office - alternative to MS office

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  11. Amarok - alternative to iTunes

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  13. Blender - Alternative to Autodesk Maya, Autodesk 3dmax, foundry Modo, cinema4d,...

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  14. Bluefish - alternative to Adobe Dreamweaver

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  15. ClamWin - alternative to Kaspersky, BItdefender, Norton

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  16. Natron - alternative to adobe aftereffects, foundry nuke

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  17. Clonezilla - alternative to Norton Ghost

    When it comes to cloning hard drives usually there is only one application, Norton ghost. Clonezilla tends to change that by offering the same usability as the ghost. Grab your copy from here. open source HD clone clonezilla
  18. FreeCAD - alternative to Autodesk AutoCAD

    Autodesk AutoCAD has years of development and dedication of its team behind it to keep it as the best CAD application on the market and it shows. However, if you are not really a hardcore professional who needs all of AutoCAD features and can live without some automation inside it FreeCAD is one of the best free open source options, it will certainly get the job done and with its dynamic simulation and analysis, it is guaranteed that you can achieve same results as in AutoCAD with little more time investment. Get if here. open source CAD freecad
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  20. Godot - alternative to Unity3D, Unreal

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Conclusion

That's it, my pick for 20 open source alternatives which I believe you should at least try and if you end up with at least one, you have saved some hard-earned money. And always remember:
  1. Open-source programs give you complete freedom without any shady terms and conditions.
  2. Open-source software code is readily available for anyone who wants it, so anyone can use it, share it, modify it for their own needs, and study it.
  3. No spying eyes, no tracking, and no telemetry
  4. In some cases, open-source tools offer features or performance benefits that surpass their commercial counterparts.
  5. No hidden charges, completely free.
If you would like to read more helpful articles and tips about various software and hardware visit errortools.com daily.
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Make AI images on your local PC

Stable Diffusion is a machine learning model developed by Stability AI to generate digital images from natural language descriptions. The model can be used for different tasks like generating image-to-image translations guided by text prompts and upscaling images.

Unlike competing models like DALL-E, Stable Diffusion is open source and does not artificially limit the images it produces. Stable diffusion was trained on a subset of the LAION-Aesthetics V2 data set. It can run on most consumer hardware equipped with a modest GPU and was hailed by PC World as "the next killer app for your PC".

stable diffusion

Since Stable Diffusion is run locally and not in the cloud, as mentioned there is no limit to the number of images that you can produce but in order to use it you will have to get down a little dirty with setting your PC environment for it since it is not really an application, it is a command line text based descriptor that will use python to generate your images, so there is no install nor GUI.

In this guide, we will show you how to both install and run Stable Diffusion on your local PC so you can start producing some cool images all by yourself.

Hardware and software requirements

Make no mistake, Stable Diffusion will not run on a potato PC, in order to harvest the power of AI-generated imagery this is what you will need:

  • A GPU with at least 4GB of VRAM
  • 10GB of hard disk space
  • Python and libraries (Miniconda3 installer will install everything you need)
  • The Stable Diffusion files
  • Git
  • Any OS (Windows, Linux, macOS)

Installing components

For this tutorial, we are covering the installation and running of Stable Diffusion on Windows PC. The steps presented here are presented in a way that installation can be performed on any operating system but precise instructions will be for Windows OS.

GIT

The first thing to do is to install GIT. It is a tool that will let you easily maintain and install repos from the internet. to install it go to: https://git-scm.com/ and click on download. Follow the instructions for your version of the operating system. If you are a developer you are familiar with GIT and if you already have it installed you can skip this step.

One thing that is important when installing GIT locally is to select to use it via the command line (the second option that says "Git from the command line and also from 3rd-party software").

Miniconda3

Now when we have GIT installed, next thing is to use Miniconda3 to install python and all required libraries that are needed. Get the installer at: https://docs.conda.io/en/latest/miniconda.html

Miniconda3 is basically an easy installer so you do not have to install tons of stuff manually from different websites and sources, it is nicely packaged in the installer that will take care of everything.

Stable Diffusion

After the previous two steps, we are ready now to actually install Stable Diffusion. Go to https://huggingface.co/CompVis/stable-diffusion#model-access and install the latest library (as of the writing of this article currently it is stable-diffusion-v1-4-original, the last one on the right), the library is almost 5GB in size so be prepared for big download.

After installing stable diffusion's latest library it is time to update it to the newest version. You can download ZIP from GIT HUB https://github.com/CompVis/stable-diffusion

Once downloaded click on the Windows start button and type in Miniconda3 and click on open. Create a folder and name it how you want on a drive of your choice. For this example, we will install it all in disk C under folder AI_art, follow the instructions below but use your own names and destination instead. Do not close Minicoda3 after typing commands!!!

cd c:/
mkdir AI_art
cd AI_art 

Extract GitHub files that you have downloaded into your new folder and get back to Minicoda3 and type the next commands:

cd C:\AI_art\stable-diffusion-main
conda env create -f environment.yaml
conda activate ldm
mkdir models\ldm\stable-diffusion-v1

Let the whole process finish, some files are large and it might take a while. After the whole process is finished and completed, copy the checkpoint file that you have downloaded into: C:\AI_art\stable-diffusion-main\models\ldm\stable-diffusion-v1

After the file is copied rename it to model.ckpt and you are finished.

Running Stable Diffusion

The created environment is needed in order to actually use Stable Diffusion to create images. Each time you want to use it you will have to run it, so go into Miniconda3, and inside it type:

conda activate ldm
cd C:\AI_art\stable-diffusion-main

after we are inside the folder call the script with the parameters:

python scripts/txt2img.py --prompt "TXT DESCRIPTION OF IMAGE THAT YOU WANT TO CREATE" --plms --n_iter 5 --n_samples 1

and that's it, your image is created and it is located in C:\AI_art\stable-diffusion-main\outputs\txt2img-samples\samples

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Making your own Minecraft server in Windows
Minecraft has taken the world like a storm and if you tried it, you could tell why, procedurally created worlds, various modifications available and fun gameplay are just some of the things this game offers and it is non wonder why kids and adults are enjoying it. Minecraft is even more fun when you play with your friends on dedicated servers, where you all can adventure and build together. Sadly as everything costs, so does the Minecraft servers as well. Lucky you can create your own Minecraft server on your computer so your friends can join and play with you free of charge with just a little time you need to spend reading this guide and building one for yourselves. Without further delay let's dive right into it.

1. Install the most recent Java version

In order to run your personal server, you will need to own and have Minecraft: JAVA edition, not Windows 10 one. If you have this version of the game and it is already running it means that you already have JAVA as well but we will need to check to see if it is the latest version of JAVA, to check this do the following:
  • Press Windows and type in configure java followed by ENTER
  • Under the update tab, click on the update now button
  • If you have the latest version you are all good, if not follow the onscreen instruction on how to update it.
If by any chance you do not have JAVA installed you can get it here.

2. Prepare a dedicated location for your Minecraft server files

You can use any folder you like for your Minecraft server folder but it is highly recommended to create a new folder whose sole purpose will be to hold and run Minecraft server files. this will be very beneficial in the future when server files need to be updated or configured. Having things in one isolated space is always a good idea and keeping things organized is also a good idea.

3. Download, install and start the Minecraft: Java Edition server file

It is now time to download server files, you can get them here. Download the server.jar file and place it inside your server folder. Once everything is downloaded and prepared do the following:
  • Run the server.jar file, the first time it runs, the file will create some configuration files.
  • After additional files appear, there should be a text document called eula.txt. Open it with a text editor then change eula=false to eula=true.

4. Enable port forwarding on your router

This sep is required if you want to have people to play with you that are outside your router network, for example, if you want them to connect to your server from their home. If you do not wish to do this and want only people on your serves from your router network you can skip this step. Unfortunately, to enable port forwarding, you’ll need to make your computer on your local network to be accessible by other computers over the internet via a router. This will effectively make your port to be an open portThis can make your system vulnerable to malicious attacks. Once you’ve enabled it, set the default server port to 25565. You’ll need the Server IP address, which you can get by opening Command Prompt or PowerShell and run ipconfig. Your IP address is usually listed as IPv4 or IPv6 Address.

5. Run the Minecraft server

Simply double-click the server.jar file to run the server. If you want to have more control over it, use the command line.
  • Navigate to your Minecraft server directory using file explorer.
  • We will be using PowerShell instead of Command Prompt to enter commands. Hit Shift + Right-click on the directory window and select “Open PowerShell window here.
  • Once you are in the right directory, write the following command:
java -Xms1024M -Xmx1024M -jar {server file name} nogui
  1. Replace the {server file name} with the full name of .jar file. The command above will make the server run with no Graphical User Interface (GUI) and use 1024MB of allocated RAM space.
  2. If you want to enable the GUI, remove the nogui command. Additionally, you can edit the memory allocation for the server by changing the Xms and Xmx value.
  3. After the server is up, invite your friends to play by sharing your local or public IP address, depending on whether you are using a local or public network. For a local network, you can give the IPv4 or IPv6 Address earlier. For public networks, go to Google and type “what is my ip” to get the address.
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Advice when you have broken key on a keyboard
Having any kind of hardware malfunction is not a pleasant place to be. Even a minor malfunction like a broken key on a keyword can introduce certain bad feelings, frustration, and difficulty in working. So, what are your options when the dreaded key on the keyboard breaks? From my point of view, there are three options that could be accomplished in order to continue working.
  1. Replace broken keyboard with the new one

    Yes, the best and most expensive solution, just bite the bullet and buy a new working one.
  2. Replace key with another key

    So you broke some key, if you can replace it with another key which you do not use, this option will work only tho if the broken key is not Space bar, enter or similar with specific shape and size.
  3. Remap key

    use Windows power tools to remap key function to another working key
There you go, three options to continue working with a broken key on the keyboard.
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Keyboard wont type numbers in Windows
As you know, you can find the number keys in two spots on your keyboard – one is above the letters while the second one is at the number pad. Recently, a number of users reported not being able to type any numbers on their keyboards while some reported that their keyboards only type numbers. This issue could occur on both sets of the number keys or on the one at the number pad. This is a rare situation and seldom happens to users. So if you are one of the few who experience the same problem then you’ve come to the right place as this post will guide you on what you can do to fix the keyboard issue. This issue is most likely due to a switched-off number pad, outdated or corrupted keyboard drivers, turned on mouse keys or it might have something to do with the physical connections. Whatever the cause is, here are some options you have to try to resolve the problem.

Option 1 – Try to enable Numlock

The first thing you can do to fix the issue with the keyboard is to enable the Numlock since one of the most common reasons for this kind of problem is where the keyboard won’t type numbers because the Numlock key is disabled. Thus, you have to enable this key by pressing it once to enable the number pad.

Option 2 – Turn off the Mouse key

  • From the Start Menu, go to Control Panel.
  • Navigate to Ease of Access Center.
  • Then select the option “Make the keyboard easier to use”.
  • Navigate to the option “Control the mouse with keyboard” and then uncheck the “Turn On Mouse Keys” option to turn off the Mouse key.
  • Click on Apply and then on OK to save the changes made.
Note: The problem with the keyboard could stem down to a simple issue in its settings so if you have successfully followed the steps for this solution then you should be able to fix the problem.

Option 3 – Reinstall, update or rollback your keyboard driver

Once you’ve determined that the problem is in the software part of the keyboard, it is now time to try to reinstall, update or roll back your keyboard drivers. To reinstall the driver for your keyboard, refer to these steps:
  • From the WinX Menu, open the Device Manager.
  • In the Device Manager, you should find your laptop’s keyboard under the “Keyboards” option. Right-click on it and select the “Uninstall” option.
Note: If you’re not quite certain about your laptop’s keyboard, you can uninstall all the keyboards if there’s more than one.
  • After that, restart your PC and see if the keyboard driver is installing automatically. If not, open the Device Manager again and right-click on Keyboards, and select the option “Scan for hardware changes” to install it.
Once the keyboard driver is installed again, check if your keyboard is now working properly or not.

Option 4 – Try connecting the keyboard to a different USB port or another computer

The problem might have something to do with the USB port that’s currently in use by your keyboard. It could be that it’s not working so it makes sense to unplug it and attach it to another USB port. You can also clean the USB port on both ends to ensure that they are not affected by corrosion. In addition, you can also try connecting the keyboard to a different computer and see if the Shift key works there or not.

Option 5 – Try to check your connections

You can also try checking if the connection mode you are using for your keyboard is functioning properly. For instance, if you are using a Surface 2-in-device, you can clean the connection pins and see if it resolves the problem.

Option 6 – Run the Hardware and Devices Troubleshooters

  • The first thing you need to do is click on Start and then on the gear-like icon to pull up the window for Settings.
  • After opening Settings, look for the Update and Security option and select it.
  • From there, go to the Troubleshoot option located on the left-hand side of the list.
  • Next, select Keyboard from the list and open the Troubleshooter and run it. Once it is doing its job, wait for it to complete the process and then restart the system.
  • After the system restarts, check if the problem’s now fixed. If not, refer to the next option given below.
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